In a bipartisan meeting with members of Congress, President Donald Trump made false and misleading claims about his predecessors’ actions on gun control legislation and shootings in “gun-free zones.”
Trump’s Misleading Gun Rhetoric
Person: Pat Toomey
GOP Medicaid Spin
Republicans are spinning their health care bills’ impact on Medicaid. Sen. Pat Toomey made the questionable claim that under the Senate bill “no one loses coverage” gained under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway claimed there “are not cuts to Medicaid” in the bills that reduce future Medicaid spending by hundreds of billions.
A False Attack on Toomey
A Democratic ad falsely accused Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey’s bank of using a “controversial” loan tactic that forced 21 people out of their homes. In fact, only two of them lost houses, and there is no evidence that either home was a primary residence.
Cherry-Picking Toomey’s Votes
A liberal political action committee uses the old trick of cherry-picking votes, making it seem as if Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania chose to give tax breaks to “the super-rich and corporations” instead of funding education.
Twisting Toomey’s Tax Record
An ad from a Democratic super PAC misleadingly claims Republican Sen. Pat Toomey supported a “$1,300 tax hike for working families.” He did not.
Club Flub in PA Senate Race
An ad attacking the Democrats’ nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania claims she “gave millions in grants to her husband’s company” while working for the state, and that the couple “pocketed thousands.” That twists the facts.
Planned Parenthood Goes on Offense
A Planned Parenthood ad wrongly implies that New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte supports shutting down the government in order to defund Planned Parenthood. She doesn’t. The ad also exaggerates the potential impact of a shutdown.
Sunday Replay
This week, we find guests on the Sunday public affairs shows making false statements about disclosure of political funds, whether a Senate candidate pushed to have terrorists tried in his home state or favored letting states ban private health insurance, and whether middle-income families would pay more if the Bush tax cuts were extended for everybody.
Rove’s Lame Claim
Republican strategist Karl Rove misled viewers of CBS’ "Face the Nation" with a false claim that labor unions aren’t disclosing where they get the millions they are spending in the 2010 elections.
Toss-ups: Pennsylvania Cash Attack
Two independent groups are spending heavily in the Pennsylvania Senate race, and we find both are airing TV ads that go a bit too far: VoteVets.org, a left-leaning veterans group, is up with an ad that claims Republican Pat Toomey supports letting Wall Street …
‘Privatizing’ Social Security?
In episode 25, we debunk President Obama’s claim that leading Republicans in Congress want to privatize Social Security. Plus, we look at dueling ads from the Pennsylvania Senate race, and we tackle claims related to the controversy over the Islamic center and mosque in New York.
For more on the stories discussed in this episode, see:
Obama’s (Latest) Social Security Whopper Aug. 16
Toomey’s Stimulus Charge Doesn’t Add Up Aug. 13
DSCC Wrong on Toomey’s Wall St.